John erick



. NTE il;

srn'rns PATENT OFFICE. i

JOHN FRICK, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. f

EXPANSIBLE rItoJIicTIIaa'Y To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that 1,' JoH'N FRICK,' a citizen yof the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented av new and useful EXpansible Projectile, of which the follow- Y ing lis a specicationl f My present invention comprehends av novel construction and arrangementl of eX! pansi'ble projectile', theqsize of which de-A pends upon the lbore of the ordnance With which it is used andit may be employed with the Vshells of small arms such as revolvers or riiies and also in .conjunction With both light and heavy artilleryand vwith guns of the .largest size;A j j In accordance with my present invention,

the projectile is constructed in sucha marmer that its width is materially increased so that when the projectile penetrates Van object an opening Will be made much larger than the normal diameter of the projectile.

,f It further consists of a novel projectilein conjunction with which is employed a desirednumber of outwardly projecting arms or 'cutting blades Which Yare automatically positioned either due to theforceof eXplosion -or--by the impact of vthe .projectile against an object. Y

s It further consists of a novel construction of. a projectile having arms movablycon- Y nected therewith and provided with a plunger kwhich effec s the opening of said arms.V m.

Other novel lfeatures of construction and advantage will l hereinafter more clearly ap pear inthe detailed description of my in* vention. p Y y For the purpose of illustratingmy invention I1v have shown in the accompanying` drawing a typical embodiment of it which in practice will give satisfactory and reliable results. It is7 however, to be'understood that this embodiment is typical `only and thatl the various instrumentalities ofk which my .invention consists can be variously-ar- A ranged ,and organized and thatftheV in'vren'- tion. is. notlimited to the. precise arrange mentl andforganization of these instrumentalities Vas herein set forth. I

Figure 1 represents in sectional elevation a. projectile embodying my invention.

. detached projectile seen in Fig. 1 after it has left the;

shell and the blades-have been' opened# r Fig. 3 representsV aisection on line 8-43 of Fig. 1.

i' Fig. 4; represents a Fig. 5 represents a section on line'5-'5 of Fig. 2. 'Q '.e' Fig. 6 represents in side elevation and in` position oneof the elements fof the" projectile. f C -,f

Fig. 7 represents-in sectional elevation an; other embodiment' of my invention. P: i: Similar numerals. ofl referencev indica-te corresponding parts. l t f:

Referring to 4the drawings, y L

Referring rst to Figs. l to 6 inclusiveil: designates an expansible projectile.: embody. ing my invention which comprises ashel-lQ, and a projectile proper. vThe .projectile proper 3 has a body'portion'fland-the'for ward Vend 5 preferably has its walls. .cone verging in order toV facilitate the yiightoli the projectile. Y Y f y f .rf: v 6 designates a chamber o'rl aperturein the body i which, extends through therear end of the body portion and at its forwarden'd communicates with an aperture 7 of reduced diameter opening through the forward' end of the projectile. The body Y"portion tu-is section on line 4.-4 of provided 'with' avdesiredY number of slots 8 l..

and for-purpose Ofillustration I have shown four of such slots it being understood that one or more may be. employed inprac'ticef Y 9 designates arms preferably inthe form of bladesl which are provided attheirfor- 13 while its juxtaposed face 14. is lsubstantially straight. The foot piece 12forms a trigger which Y when the parts are in as+ VVsembled position as seen in Fig. 1 is received in the space. formed'by they grooveflfof a y 'Y Specification of Letters Patent. A Patetd Och-'14j 19.19., .i Y Application'fiied Mayas, 191s. serial No. 237,222. f

plunger 16 which is slidably mounted in the chamberj, of the projectile. Thevplunger 16 terminates at-its forward end in a striker Y 'or'impact member 17 which is of .reduced diameter and which is slidable in the aperture 7. Thejplunger 16 and impactmem'- body portion 4 of the projectile.

ber 17 form a shoulder 18 between which and the forward end of the chamber 6 is interposed a spring 19. The rear end of the plunger-16 is provided with a head 20 of enlarged diameter and this head 1s preferably of the same diameter as the diameter 0f the body portion 4 and when the parts are assembled, as in Fig. 1, it contributes with the shell 2 to form a chamber to receive the explosive charge 21. The shell 2 is provided 'with a percussioncap or time fuse 22 the purpose of which is to ignite the explosive charge 21.

. The forward head ofthe plunger v16 1s provided with a longitudinally `extending groove 23 into which extends a set screw .24 whichfis in threaded engagement with the kInwthe embodiment seen in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the plunger 16 is maintained in the-position seenin Fig. 1 by means of a pin 25 which extends through the projectile proper 3. and into a recess 26 in the forward head of the lplunger 16. This pin 25 may vary in size so that it will be broken by the force Aoftheiexplosion or it may be of such size that it does not break until the impact member 17 strikes an object. In the construction seen in Figs. 1to 5 inclusive, the pin 25 will preferably be of such size and strength `that the force of the explosion will canse it to break whereupon the spring 19 will cause the plunger 16 to move rearwardly as soon as the projectile proper leaves the shell 2. During such movement the shoulder formed by the groove 16 will 'cause'the 'arms 9 to move into the position seen in Fig. 2 and due to the set screw 24 and the :groove 23 the .position 4of the plunger andthe projectile 'proper will be that'seen inV 'Fi-g. 2. The .iiat faces 14 'engagingthe periphery of the forward head of the plunger 16 retain the cutting blades in the position seen Iin Fig. 2.

In th'e embodimentv seen in Fig. 7, the construction is substantially the same except that the head 20 of the plunger 16 is positioned `nearer to the groove 15. ',Ihe pin 25 is imade relatively stronger so that the cutting blades 9 will not be opened until the iinpact member A17 'strikes the object.

My present invention is especially adapted to Vbe 'employed in guns which are used against aeroplanes since a much larger hole can lbe lmade'in the wings or engine of the aeroplane.. If desired :to lighten the rear endof the body portion Vsuch body portion may beV cut awayas indicated at 27. Y

These cutaway portions 2T also facilitate the insertion of the means employed to lpivotally connect the cutting bladesof the projectile.

. It will 'be apparent from the Vforegoing that `in accordance with my present invention, I `provide a projectile with one or more outwardly projecting elements which are automaticall thrown or moved outwardly as soon as `t e projectile leaves the gun or as soon as the projectile impacts'aga'inst an object. These cutting blades are securely held in their open position by means of the plunger which A'coperates with them.

It will be apparent that in the broad aspectof my present invention it is not necessary that the projectile be fired from` the bore of 'a gun since it can be projected by any desired means, and in any desired manner in which case the time fuse can be set so that the blades will be automatically opened at .any desired point in the fiightof the projectile. i .7..

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction'of an expansible projectile which embodies vthe features of advantage enumerated. as desirable inthe statement of the invention and the above-description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof whichwill give in practice satisfactory and reliableresults, it is to be understood that vthe'same is susceptible of modification in variousparticulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacriicing'an'y of its advantages. Y A

. Having 'thus described rmy invention 'what I claim las new and desire vto secure `by Letters Patent,.is Y

1. A projectile comprising a shell, abcd-y portion therein having a chamber having Sits forward` end extending beyond 'the impact end of said projectile, a plunger in said chamber having a head contributing with said shell to forma chamber for said explosive charge, an explosive charge in said chamber, a spring to effect the relative movementof said:plunger and body portion, bladespivotally carried by said body :portion vand normally concealed within said'shell and provided with means actuated 'by said v*plunger toe'ifectthe opening of the blades, and a pin to prevent relative movement of said plunger and body portion until the projectile'hasbeen fired.

2. A projectile comprising a shell, abody portion in said shell, Ysaid body portion having an aperture extending therethrough, 4a plunger in said aperture having an "impact member extending beyond the forward vend of saidr body portion, said plungerhavin'g a groove intermediate its ends and having a head contributing with Ysaid shell to form a chamber for the explosive, blades pivotally mounted at their inner ends in said body portion and having their inner ends extending into the groove of said plunger, whereby relative movement-of said plunger and body portion effects the opening of said blades, and a pin to normally prevent relative movement of said plunger and body portion.

3. A projectile having a chamber, a plunger slidable in said chamber and extending through the forward end of the projectile to form an impact member, blades pivotally carried near one end by said projectile and having flat'faces engaging the periphery of the plunger to retain the blades in open p0- sition, said plunger having means toefect the opening of said blades, a spring acting directly against said plunger to effect relative movement of said plunger and blades, means to limit the travel of the plunger, and means to prevent movement of the plunger to effect opening of the blades until after the projectile has been fired.

4. In a projectile, a body portion, a plunger slidable in said body portion and having its forward end extending beyond the impact end of said body portion, said plunger being provided with a groove, a spring acting against said plunger and tending to move it longitudinally after the projectile has been lired, and blades pivotally carried by said lbody portion and having foot pieces extending into said groove, whereby said blades are moved into expanded position when the plunger is moved rearwardly with respect to said body portion.

5. In a projectile, the combination with a shell, of a body portion fixed to the shell, a

plunger longitudinally movable in said body portion and having a head contributing with said shell to form a chamber to receive an explosive charge, said plunger having its forward end extending beyond the ybody portion to form an impact member, said plunger being also provided with a groove, a spring interposed between said body portion and plunger and tending to move the latter rearwardly, and cutting blades piv'otally mounted in said body portion and having foot Hanges extending into said groove, one face of a foot flange being straight and the other face being curved, whereby said straight face engages said plunger when the blades are expanded to retain them in expanded condition.

JOHN FRICK. l/Vitnesses H. S. FAIRBANKS, C. D. MoVAY.

copies of this patent muy be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

i Washington, D. G. 

